Virginia Tech is sitting pretty at 2-0 on the season after senior forward Amani Hansberry absolutely balled out, dropping a game-high 23 points in a dominant 96-67 win over the Mercer Bears Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum. That’s how you come out and set the tone.
Hansberry Leads a Scoring Barrage
Hansberry was on fire, hitting 9-of-13 shots from the field and pulling down five rebounds. But he wasn’t the only one lighting up the scoreboard. Junior point guard Ben Hammond chipped in 16 points, showing off his sticky hands with five steals and dishing out four assists. He’s already racked up 12 steals in just two games, which is just insane. Senior guard Jaylen Curry added 14 points, and Isaiah Elohim was right there with 11. Even off the bench, junior guard Tyler Johnson made a massive impact, scoring 8 points and grabbing a game-high 9 rebounds. This dude has 21 points and 16 boards in two games, both coming off the bench. Talk about instant offense and energy.
Cleanup on Aisle Tech: Turnovers and Free Throws
Beyond the individual heroics, the team’s overall game looked way sharper. The Hokies shot a solid 49% from the field and hit 8 of 22 from deep, good for 36%. But where they really made some noise was at the charity stripe and with ball security. After struggling at 65% from the free-throw line in their opener against Coppin State, Tech drained 20 of 26 attempts, a much-improved 77% on Thursday. And check this out: they only turned the ball over FOUR times. That’s a massive jump from the 14 turnovers they coughed up on Tuesday. You know head coach Mike Young is absolutely grinning about those numbers. That’s the kind of disciplined, clean basketball that wins games.
Virginia Tech hits the road next, heading to Sioux City, Iowa, to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday. If they can keep up this kind of offensive firepower and maintain that tight control on the ball, they’re going to be a tough out for anyone.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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